Grant Wahl, Journalist Who Cricized Qatar's Anti-Gay Polici, Di Sudnly While Coverg World Cup Doha - TheWrap

Contents:

• CONFN, EXASPERATN AND DATG APPS – MY MONTH AS A GAY REPORTER AT THE QATAR WORLD CUP
• "AM GAY...": MAN WH RABOW T-SHIRT DI DAYS AFTER DETENTN IN QATAR
• GAY MAN 'HUNTED' BY QATAR POLICE AND GANG-RAPED HOTEL ROOM AHEAD OF WORLD CUP
• WHAT ’S LIKE TO BE GAY AND QATARI
• GAY MAN OM QATAR SOUNDS ALARM ABOUT VERAGE OF THE WORLD CUP AND LGBT OPPRSN
• WORLD CUP AMERIN REPORTER DEAD DAYS AFTER DETENTN QATAR OVER GAY RABOW SHIRT; BROTHER SAYS 'HE WAS KILLED'
• GRANT WAHL, JOURNALIST WHO CRICIZED QATAR’S ANTI-GAY POLICI, DI SUDNLY WHILE COVERG WORLD CUP DOHA
• GAY PEOPLE LIVG UNR RADAR QATAR PREPARE WARILY FOR WORLD CUP
• GAY ATRALIAN FOOTBALLER JOSH CAVALLO SAYS WORLD CUP SHOULDN’T BE GOG TO QATAR, WHERE HOMOSEXUALY IS ILLEGAL
• RSIA SET TO PORT GAY REPORTER TO A UNTRY WHERE ACTIVISTS SAY HE FAC TORTURE, PRISON

CONFN, EXASPERATN AND DATG APPS – MY MONTH AS A GAY REPORTER AT THE QATAR WORLD CUP

I was a gay reporter Qatar for four weeks.

I was fortunate, too, that The Athletic’s football edor is a gay man who felt the issue should be explored.

"AM GAY...": MAN WH RABOW T-SHIRT DI DAYS AFTER DETENTN IN QATAR

And, this suatn at least, to be gay affords a blsg not granted to other mory groups: n be hidn. It meant tailg and unrstandg how and why LGBT+ people — and that bloody armband — beme one of the them of the here is a gay guy’s acunt of the past month, reportg the World Cup Qatar.

Grdr, however, is more of a hook-up app and is often the most direct wdow to the lol gay muny. There were gay or bisexual men om across the Gulf regn.

Gianni Infanto speaks ntroversially ahead of the tournament (Photo: Christopher Lee/Getty Imag)Homosexual behavur is illegal Qatar, as is sex outsi of marriage, regardls of sexual orientatn, so some of what I am scribg may e as a surprise. “I go to a hook-up bee I crave pany and nnectn, even if is fleetg, ” says one gay man, whose inty is ncealed to protect his inty. Some gay men said they lead secretive liv wh partners.

GAY MAN 'HUNTED' BY QATAR POLICE AND GANG-RAPED HOTEL ROOM AHEAD OF WORLD CUP

Several gay men scribed their fear of police entrapment, as well as s of btal sexual abe. The hostily is worse for those nsired feme, or trans, unrlg that so much about homophobia is unrpned by warped perceptns of the tournament, many Wtern journalists had obssed over whether men would be able to hold hands Doha.

Several gay men were rigned to unfulfilled personal liv, forced to marry women to su society, whether Qatar or neighbourg stat.

They explaed that fay and relign do the job of the state, imposg a cloak of shame over homosexualy. One said he was prepared to set asi his own happs bee he feared his father would be stigmatised by his fay if he was known to have a gay person shared so many of the same terts as me.

WHAT ’S LIKE TO BE GAY AND QATARI

He has enjoyed gay sexual enunters but never his own untry, for fear of reprisals. He said he had no gay iends wh whom he uld share his feelgs.

I was shown, for example, s of psychologists speakg out agast homosexualy on social media. But if he thks that (he is gay), then I would talk to him and te him about . ”Brighton is often scribed as England’s gay pal, which mak the nversatn untentnally funny — to me, fd some mon ground: “It’s not somethg you n ntrol, ” he says.

Instead, was a multi-loured pattern that stopped short of clarg self as a statement relatg specifilly to LGBT+ people or gay rights Qatar. A 959-word statement on the English FA’s webse scribed the armband as a mpaign to “stop discrimatn” but did not mentn the words “gay” or “LGBT” relatn to the FA chief executive Mark Bullgham scribed the armband “as a visible show of support for cln football — somethg we strongly believe and have nsistently supported”.

GAY MAN OM QATAR SOUNDS ALARM ABOUT VERAGE OF THE WORLD CUP AND LGBT OPPRSN

A few days later, Qatar World Cup ambassador and former ternatnal footballer Khalid Salman told a German broadster that to be gay is “haram”, meang forbidn said: “I am not a strict Mlim, but why is haram?

WORLD CUP AMERIN REPORTER DEAD DAYS AFTER DETENTN QATAR OVER GAY RABOW SHIRT; BROTHER SAYS 'HE WAS KILLED'

Today I feel gay. ”He add: “Of urse, I am not Qatari, I am not an Arab, I am not Ain, I am not gay, I am not disabled.

Harry Kane wearg the OneLove armband before the World Cup (Photo: Getty Imag)This was my first full day Doha and when I tweeted cricism of Infanto’s speech, people replied wh imag of a rabow flag flam, warngs to “shut the f*** up u gay peace (sic) of sh”, and I received direct msag tellg me to rot next 48 hours would set the tone for the rt of the tournament. Swanson said: “I am stg here, a privileged posn on a global stage, as a gay man here Qatar. Jt bee Gianni Infanto is not gay, do not mean that he don’t re.

”FIFA would not ment formally but sourc, who wouldn’t speak on the rerd orr to protect their jobs, said that the OneLove opposn was “never anti-gay” but stead about remdg people of the regulatns to which they prevly signed up. Durg this tournament, there was no player or ach or natnal feratn executive who was openly gay and prepared to talk about their experience.

GRANT WAHL, JOURNALIST WHO CRICIZED QATAR’S ANTI-GAY POLICI, DI SUDNLY WHILE COVERG WORLD CUP DOHA

Ele men’s football and the state of Qatar are uned that tra: gay men are often visible and their experienc go prent uld humanise the culture war. The discsn is all the more powerful for football player or ach munited the purpose of the armband they wished to wear, or the importance of rights and eedoms, or sought to nvey any way what life might be like for a Qatari queer person or a gay supporter elsewhere. He said he did not want to be subsumed to a rabow, or a pri movement, and that he found that the highly whe and highly chiselled ont pag of gay magaz the Wt did not reprent him any more than he felt reprented by Qataris who strip him of his rights and digny.

Those of who ed social media to persistently outle aspects that we perceived to be homophobic laws or rhetoric were brand as racist or orientalist, as well as receivg creasg volleys of abe. I tsted him when he said to my face that gay visors would be ma to feel safe and nfince dwdled the n-up to the tournament and went out of the wdow as I flew to Doha. Go gays ? — Subscribe to (@GrantWahl) November 21, 2022Alex Baker, an English gay football fan, tried to take a flag to the match between England and Iran that was greysle, rather than rabow lours.

“The ia of homosexualy, I do not like . ”On social media, discsn about homophobia was rced to shoutg, mem or abe, but I ntued to have difficult nversatns person.

GAY PEOPLE LIVG UNR RADAR QATAR PREPARE WARILY FOR WORLD CUP

She told me she unrstood the “animal kgdom” and add “whatever I get up to behd closed doors” is none of her also told me that the Wt is teachg children to be gay, potg to news reports she had seen the right-wg Brish and Amerin media. They seemed surprised that Qatari people are largely pleasant, which seemed peculiar to me, bee the cricism had been of the ernment’s treatment of workers, rather than suggtg Qatari people are herently who prevly spoke up for gay people seemed to be sertg . David Beckham, who once upon a time posed for gay magaze Attu, had taken the Qatari sh and did not say a word.

Inter homophob were empowered.

Men’s football is hardly a nirvana for gay supporters or players. Eight of the natns at the World Cup outlaw homosexualy.

GAY ATRALIAN FOOTBALLER JOSH CAVALLO SAYS WORLD CUP SHOULDN’T BE GOG TO QATAR, WHERE HOMOSEXUALY IS ILLEGAL

At the World Cup 1966, homosexualy was illegal the host natn: England. He was last publicly seen pretendg to e out as gay October, what would have reprented a landmark moment for the sport, only for to subsequently appear to be a joke — Casillas claims he was a tournament of relentls gaslightg, was a ftg nouement.

In a tearful Instagram vio post, the journalist’s brother, Eric Wahl, who is gay, alleged Qatari ernment culpabily Grant Wahl’s ath. I’m gay. As the first and currently only Qatari to publicly e out as gay, Mohamed­—a doctor who has lived the U.

RSIA SET TO PORT GAY REPORTER TO A UNTRY WHERE ACTIVISTS SAY HE FAC TORTURE, PRISON

But given homosexualy is crimalized Qatar, he is likely to rema s only member for the foreeable future. In the months sce, Mohamed lnched the non-prof Alwan Foundatn to advance LGBTQ+ rights across the Middle East and pecially Qatar, where he says that secury operativ filtrate gay muni orr to torture and erce members to rm on others. TIME: As a gay Qatari, do you feel that hostg the World Cup n brg change?